A doctor who quarantined herself for three weeks after treating dozens of ebola patients in West Africa has vowed to return to disease ravaged Liberia to help more victims.

Dr Nathalie MacDermott, from Cardiff, has today spoken of her ordeal for the first time, revealing of the 100 patients she helped, just three survived.

The 32-year-old spent a fortnight in Liberia with relief organisation Samaritan's Purse, treating victims of the epidemic.

During that time she watched as two colleagues, Americans Dr Kent Brantly and aid worker Nancy Writebol fell ill with the deadly virus, helping nurse them before they were flown home for treatment.

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Dr Nathalie MacDermott, has been revealed as the British national, who put herself into quarantine after returning from Liberia fearing she had ebola. The 32-year-old is back at work at Singleton Hospital in Swansea after health officials gave her the all-clear

Dr MacDermott, pictured in her protective clothing, right, worked for the organisation Samaritan's Purse in the Liberian capital of Monrovia, at the same treatment clinic as American victims of the deadly virus Dr Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol

After returning to her home in Cardiff, Dr MacDermott said she decided to confine herself to her flat for three weeks, fearing she could have contracted the disease.

Following advice from Public Health Wales, she only kept in touch with friends and family via Skype, even becoming a virtual guest at a wedding.

But the 32-year-old has now been given the all-clear and has rejoined colleagues at the Swansea-based Singleton Hospital.

She said: 'Before I went out there it was apparent to me that there was an epidemic that was spiralling out of control.

'When I got out there with Samaritan's Purse I felt like we were sitting on a timebomb waiting to explode.

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'And it was very apparent that there were increasing numbers of ebola cases and there were not enough staff to look after them and they were struggling to get on top of everything.

'It was probably one of the most traumatic experiences of my life.'

At her treatment centre in the capital, Monrovia, there was a 90 per cent mortality rate among the roughly 100 patients she dealt with.

'It was very challenging to manage so many patients and see so few survive,' she said.

'Ebola is a horrible disease and the way it causes people to die is unpleasant.

'And
the trauma to the families is terrible - knowing that their loves ones
had ebola and the likelihood they wouldn't survive was very difficult to
manage as well.'

Dr
MacDermott took over the day-to-day running of the centre when Dr
Brantly, 33, and 59-year-old Ms Writebol were isolated after developing
the potentially fatal condition.

Both
were flown back to the U.S. for treatment and have since been cured,
with Dr Brantly describing his return to health as 'miraculous'.

When the 32-year-old returned home to Cardiff she voluntarily put herself in quarantine, not leaving her flat for 21 days, only contacting her family and friends via Skype

Dr MacDermott, said: 'When I got out there with Samaritan's Purse I felt like we were sitting on a timebomb waiting to explode. It was probably one of the most traumatic experiences of my life'

Dr MacDermott said: 'When we heard Kent and Nancy had contracted ebola it was a scary time.

'But I didn't have a lot of time to worry about it as we were so busy.

'Kent had isolated himself as soon as he had a fever and I helped to look after him - along with the rest of the team - before he was flown back to the U.S.

'As well as a friend and a colleague he was the medical director of our unit and after he left I took over the day-to-day running of the unit.

'It was extremely stressful so I didn't have a lot of time to think about it.

'It was probably one of the most traumatic experiences of my life'

- Dr Nathalie MacDermott

'The most worrying thing was how he and Nancy had become infected. We all had personal protective equipment and very tight protocols which had not been broken.'

Dr MacDermott said while beds were in short supply the unit had plenty of IV drips, antibiotics, anti-malaria drugs, painkillers and other medical equipment.

But without a specific treatment for Ebola she knew most of her patients would die.

Of the roughly 100 patients she helped cared for, just three survived.

'It's hard for a doctor to know that
they won't be able to save the vast majority of their patients but I
already knew that when I went to Liberia,' she said.

'I knew many local health care workers were frightened of their patients and the care they gave them was inconsistent.

'There
can be nothing worse than to die alone in pain and frightened so I went
there to help prevent some of this suffering - to care for them, to
manage their pain, to pray with them and to comfort them.'

She said one of the most memorable days she spent in Liberia was when a boy of 12, called William, recovered and was able to be reunited with his family.

Mrs Writebol and Dr Brantly were flown back to the U.S. in specially designed isolation pods and treated using the experimental ebola drug, Zmapp. Both have since made a full recovery

She added: 'We were so delighted when he got better and we were feeding him lots of biscuits. It was a great day in a very hard period of time.'

Two of her other patients also survived ebola but Dr MacDermott was back in Wales when she was told they had been given the all-clear.

Dr MacDermott, who wants to specialise in paediatric infectious diseases, said she would not hesitate to go back to Liberia.

She added: 'There is so much work to be done and if I could get leave I would definitely go out there and help again.

'They need healthcare staff to not only care for patients but help to contain the spread of infection.'

Ebola is a severe viral illness often characterised by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. In its early stages its symptoms can often be confused with a cold or flu.

With Ebola, however, other symptoms emerge which include vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding.